Comments, complaints and just plain talk to sheryl_martin@tvo.org
Summary: A chance encounter illustrates a fact of life for Scully..Rating: G, Story...
At The Playgroundby Sheryl Martin
It was a nice warm day; just warm enough to get by with a light coat and perhaps a set of gloves and a scarf. A gaggle of parents rushed by the park bench where Dana Scully sat, taking advantage of the peaceful atmosphere that usually filled the small park.
Until the kids arrived.
She had forgotten how noisy they could be.
The ten or so youngsters swarmed over the jungle gym; tangled themselves up in the monkey bars and bounced off the teeter totter while screaming at a decibel level to make a jet plane hide in embarrassment.
They were dropping scarves and mittens everywhere; trading comments and fighting and yelling and making up and brawling on the thick sand, just barely coated with a sprinkling of snow.
Off to one side the collected adults gave off a group sigh, already exchanging comments and tips on how to handle colds and new day care facilities and how the Significant Other felt about it and why no one could find a Tickle Me Elmo for Christmas...
She felt positively ancient. Taking her gloves off carefully, she tucked her hands into her trench coat pockets; watching one little girl dash about from clique to clique. The youngster only stayed with each group for a few minutes; running around with a wide smile and yelling at her mother to watch her, which the parent did in between gulps of steaming coffee.
Suddenly the child dashed up to Scully; skidding to an awkward stop on the slick grass. She stared at the older woman, a finger in her mouth as she pondered this stranger.
"Hello." Dana said first, smiling. She could feel the attentive stare of the parents on her; watching her for any signs of danger.
Times had changed. And not for the better.
"'llo." The little girl had long dark hair, neatly braided in the back except for the ends; which were frayed and threatening to break free on a constant basis. She frowned.
"My name's Kathy... What's yours?"
"Dana." The redhead took her hands out of her pockets; subtly displaying them for the sake of safety. "Is your mom over there?"
"Yah." She turned and waved frantically, yelling although there was no need to. "Mom! Mom!"
Mom waved back at the pair, exchanging shy smiles with Scully.
"So... are those all your friends?" Dana couldn't for the life of her think of what to say, other than try to gather information like any good FBI agent.
"Uh-huh... That's Johnny..." The mittened hand pointed at one boy, taller than the others where they had taken over the swings. "He's my boyfriend..."
"Your boyfriend?" Dana's eyebrows raised. "Aren't you a little young for a boyfriend?"
Kathy shrugged. "I don't know... but he says he is and I say he is so he is."
For some reason this conversation reminded her of talking to Mulder.
"Do you let him kiss you?" Dana chuckled, wondering how her own mother would have taken to a discussion like this when Dana and Melissa were this age.
Kathy shook her head violently. "No way... boys are icky..."
Dana frowned. "Then how can you say he's your boyfriend?"
"Well..." Holding up one covered hand, the little girl ticked off the points through the thick wool. "He makes fun of me and then says he's sorry; he gives me some of his lunch as long as I give him cookies; he tugs on my hair in front of the other boys and then apol... apol... says he's sorry again."
"Don't any of the other boys do that to you?"
"Well... not really..." She scuffed a small trench in the dirt. "'Cause I know he likes me better than the other girls... 'cause I know..."
"Oh..." Dana's smile was infectious. "I understand."
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Kathy shot back.
"Ah... no, I don't." Dana shook her head with a grin. "Not yet."
"Then who's that?" She motioned at the tall dark man who had come up behind the park bench, and who was now resting his elbows on the back of the bench.
"Mulder..." Dana let her breath out slowly. "Don't sneak up on me like that..."
He grinned. "Hey, you were having such a good talk that I didn't want to spoil it." Reaching over, he tugged a loose lock of auburn hair. "Time for our meeting with Frohike."
"Don't remind me." She sighed, getting to her feet. Looking down at the little girl, she smiled. "We've got to go now - you have a nice time, okay?"
The youngster nodded, a wide smile on her face. "Bye." She dashed away back into the mass of children before Scully could reply.
"Okay, Mulder..." Falling into step beside him, the redhead looked at her partner. "What's this all about?"
Behind them, Kathy had returned to her mother to get a snack. Her mother looked at the couple as they disappeared down the pathway.
"So... who was that, Kathy?"
"Oh, she was a nice lady..." The little one shrugged. "And that's her boyfriend."
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"If you will practice being fictional for a while, you will understand that fictional characters are sometimes more real than people with bodies and heartbeats."Richard Bach -- "Illusions"